Irregular heartbeat leading to blood clots and heart failure is termed as atrial fibrillation. The growing geriatric population worldwide and increase in obesity and hypertension cases are expected to boost the demand for atrial fibrillation treatment. Companies venturing in the atrial fibrillation treatment space are coming up with effective techniques to curb the risk of heart attacks caused by atrial fibrillation.

According to a report published by Transparency Market Research, the global atrial fibrillation market is expected to rise at a 13.4% CAGR between 2013 and 2019 to touch a valuation of US$14.8 bn in 2019.

What factors are responsible for driving the global demand for atrial fibrillation treatment?

The increase in the global geriatric population is one of the major reasons for the increasing cases of atrial fibrillation. With old age, the risk of heart diseases, obesity, and hypertension heightens, leading to a greater risk of heart failure. Disorders such as obesity and hypertension are also prevalent among the young population, thus leading to atrial fibrillation and the need to curb it. Many companies are investing in clinical trials targeted towards curing atrial fibrillation and have also exhibited favorable results so far.

For instance, The Heart Institute of Florida at the Florida Medical Center recently announced a new procedure to treat Caribbean atrial fibrillation patients using the convergent approach. The process helps restore the normal heart rhythm for patients who have been suffering from atrial fibrillation for a long time.

How will the implementation of strict regulations regarding product approval affect the adoption of atrial fibrillation treatments?

Patients suffering from atrial fibrillation frequently intake drugs with non-pharmacological treatments to reduce the risk of stroke before going through an electric cardioversion. Thus, to avoid complications, these drugs have to go through rigorous tests to get their approval from the FDA, CE, and other medical agencies. The European Medicine Agency has the strictest regulations regarding the approval of atrial fibrillation drugs. The delay in the approval process and rejections due to strict guidelines is likely to hamper the market growth of atrial fibrillation treatment.

In spite of these drawbacks, analysts predict that pharmacological treatments are expected to dominate the global atrial fibrillation treatment market with a share of 55% by the end of 2019. The launch of advanced drugs is also likely to boost the demand for atrial fibrillation treatment. According to the TMR report, Asia Pacific, North America, and Europe along with the Rest of the World are the main regions for the market of atrial fibrillation. Among these, North America is expected to maintain its dominance until 2019 followed by Europe and Asia Pacific. Asia Pacific is projected to witness the highest growth by 2019. Some of the leading companies in the global atrial fibrillation market are Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, Boston Scientific Corp., CardioFocus Inc., AtriCure Inc., Endoscopic Technologies Inc., Biosense Webster Inc., Sanofi Aventis, St. Jude Medical Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Corp., and Johnson and Johnson Ltd.